


Hari Potter and the Very Interesting Year

by mothermalfoy (MsLyraMalfoy)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 8th year, F/F, Female Harry, Post War, Professors, Trans Draco, butch!Hari, femmeslash, high femme!Lyra
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:40:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27501712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsLyraMalfoy/pseuds/mothermalfoy
Summary: After a less than ideal summer, Hari is about to return to Hogwarts, but this time, as a professor, but she's not the only one, can she handle working with Professor Malfoy?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 7
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

For as much as Hari craved the idea of normalcy, her life post-Battle of Hogwarts had been, thus far, anything but. She had spent the better part of the summer trying to find something to do with her sudden free time. Having spent the last year on the run, and prior to that having spent the better part of her summers either miserable or actively afraid for her life, or both, suddenly being able to simply do what she wanted felt, wrong somehow. It wasn’t that she wanted Voldemort back or anything, far from it, it was just that, she needed some form of excitement back in her life.

She had taken to jogging for long distances very early in the morning, and working out a great deal in the hopes that perhaps keeping herself busy would somehow alleviate her frustrations, and it did, so long as she kept going, but the moment she stopped to sleep, or eat, or give her body any kind of rest, it was as if she found herself falling into a deep and endless slog. She felt listless, and anxious, and entirely too energetic for her own good.

She had tried several Muggle methods as suggested by Hermione. Meditation, which only made her want to leap out of her own skin. Yoga, which she had come to rather enjoy after a good run, but which had done little to ease the racing thoughts in her mind. It had gotten so bad that Hari had been regularly taking sleeping potions to get herself to sleep, and by the end of the summer, Hari had finally decided that perhaps it was time to take more drastic measures. She had just been considering moving to the continent when an owl flew through the window. Hari stared at the owl for a long moment, it looked like one of the Hogwarts owls, she thought, taking the parchment from the owls leg, and unfurling it.

_Dear Miss Potter,_

_After careful consideration, myself, along with the staff here at Hogwarts, have decided to hold an 8 th year, for all students who wish to return to the school to finish their N.E.W.T exams. It is of course, voluntary, and for those that do wish to return or those who may be concerned with the idea of returning to a scene that, just a few short months ago was rather horrible, we have taken steps to ensure that there will be multiple mind-healers on sight to counsel any students who wish to seek out their services._

_Due to the extensive nature of the damage to the school building, and other mitigating factors, we have decided to push back the start date of the school year from 1 September to 31 October. We hope that this extra time will give students the necessary time to make all arrangements if interested in attending and allow us to finish final repairs. If you have any questions, feel free to owl me at any time._

_Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress._

_PS: I’ve been informed by Ms. Granger that you have been having a bit of a difficult time of things since the war ended, perhaps you’d like to join me for tea in my office whenever you get this message, and we can discuss opportunities for you in future._

Hari read the note several times over, she was tempted to ignore it, it wasn’t as though McGonagall would particularly miss her if she opted not to meet her for tea, but the more she thought about it, and the more she remembered the former teacher, the more she knew that she could not possibly ignore such an invite. Sighing, she realized it would mean she would have to take a shower and get into clean clothes, _going back to Hogwarts,_ she had never even considered it as a possibility before then, and yet, there was an odd sort of appeal there. Of course it had been the place where she had witnessed so much destruction and pain, but before that it had been the only place in Hari’s life where she had actually felt at home.

 _If nothing else_ , she told herself, _it could prove to be interesting._ She wasn’t entirely sure she believed it, but there was nothing for it. Getting out of the kitchen chair, Hari made her way up the stairs and into the main hall of Number 12 Grimauld Place. Any other person, who did not possess her unholy stamina, might have been exhausted at the prospect of having to walk up nearly three flights of stairs in order to reach their bedroom after a four mile run, but Hari relished the challenge. She imagined that during the coldest months of the winter she would spend much of her time just jogging around Number 12, and she had, once or twice before, especially when it was slightly too early in the morning for her to leave the house for her usual run. She had even cast numerous extension charms on the house, in an effort to make her run longer, but they never lasted very long, as she wasn’t especially good at them. As of late, her magic had become rather erratic, and it required much more concentration to do even simple tasks, than Hari was willing to give on most days. Hermione had suggested that if she were to concentrate her magic on something large, she might be able to exhaust the extra stores of energy that were so grating on her. Though every time she tried, she found herself annoyed at the lack of anything happening and her concentration was once more broken.

Standing in the shower, Hari wondered what Professor McGonagall might wish to speak to her about, and what she meant about her potential future opportunities? Hari had already refused several job offers, some considerably more ridiculous than others, including an offer to make her Minister for Magic. Hari had assured them, she had no interest in becoming Minister, nor for that matter did she have an interest in working for the Ministry in any capacity. The Ministry had been nothing but a thorn in Hari’s side for the better part of the last seven years, and between several Minister’s including the interim Minister trying to use her as a political pawn to aid them in some way, shape, or form, and countless instances of the Ministry ignoring her assertions that Voldemort was in fact back, and a very real threat, Hari saw no reason to expect that the Ministry would ever change in any meaningful way. _Still,_ Hari thought as she washed her hair, _working at Hogwarts might be a nice change._ Larger grounds meant there was more space for running, and at least as recent as fifth year she had actually rather enjoyed teaching. She was good at it too, certainly teaching was a more noble profession than working for the Ministry. She had all but made up her mind that she would in fact, be taking up whatever position Professor McGonagall offered her, by the time she exited the shower, and crossed into her bedroom, making her way towards the closet in search of her next outfit. She had always had an appreciation for Muggle suits. Wizard robes left a lot to be desired, and she refused to be caught dead in a dress, not after the disastrous Yule Ball incident. _No, a suit was far more professional_ , she thought. She smirked a little to herself as she grabbed a navy blue suit and made her way towards the mirror as she began to put it on. It had been quite a while since she had worn anything other than either pants, and t-shirts or her workout clothing, which consisted of joggers and a tank top most days. She grinned, as she reached for the white button down and pulled it on. For a moment she stared at her fluffy hair in the mirror that, even all these years later, she had never quite managed to tame. No amount of hair potion, or even chopping it all off had managed to help much, but she liked the look of her hair shorter, and she liked the look of the hard lines of her physique in the mirror. 

Finishing getting dressed, Hari made her way down the stairs once more towards the floo in the drawing room.

Sucking a deep breath, Hari grabbed a handful of floo powder and tossed it into the flames calling out, "Headmistress’ Office, Hogwarts," stepped inside and vanished in a swirl of green flames.

Seconds later, Hari reappeared in the headmistress' office, "Ah, Ms. Potter, good to see you," McGonagall said as Hari stepped out of the fireplace. "You're looking smart," she added.

"Thank you," Hari replied. McGonagall inclined her head towards Hari, and offered her a seat in front of her desk. Hari took it gratefully. Looking around McGonagall's office, much had changed since Hari had been here last, the new headmistress had redecorated a bit, and Hari had to admit she was impressed.

"Would you care for a biscuit Ms. Potter?"

Hari smirked to herself, thinking back to the moment in fifth year when McGonagall had offered her a biscuit last. "No, thank you, professor," she replied.

"Please, call me Minerva," the older witch said with a smile. Hari nodded, though she was not sure she would be able to do so any time soon. "Tea?"

"No, thank you, sorry, I just… why exactly did you want to see me?" she asked. She hadn't meant for the question to sound so rude; she was just about to apologize when Minerva held up a hand, smiling at her.

"I understand your confusion," she said. "Perhaps I should have been less vague in my initial letter. As with years past, as I'm sure you no doubt remember, we find ourselves about to start term once more without a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor…

"I'll take it," Hari said, before she could finish. 

Minerva smiled at her. "I wasn't offering it to you, yet."

Hari's face flushed red as Minerva merely continued smiling, not dissimilar to Dumbledore's all too knowing smile. Hari shook her head at that thought, the last thing she wanted to do was think about Albus bloody Dumbledore. "Oh," she said.

"Of course, I do expect to offer you the job, but it's imperative you have a certain number of skillsets and pass your Defense N.E.W.Ts, beforehand, you understand." Hari nodded. "If any one has the skillsets needed, its you, Potter," she added. "That's why I called you here early, actually."

"Oh?" Hari asked.

"I would like you to do me a favor," she said. Hari looked at her curiously. "The Ministry has allowed, for us to, in this very rare circumstance give you your Defense N.E.W.T. prior to your return to school, in order for you to be able to teach in this upcoming semester. Which is part of the actual reason, I wanted to push back the start of term this year. Now we can give you the exam in a month’s time, thus giving you ample time in which to study and prepare. In the meantime, I will look for an alternative candidate in case you are unable to complete the examination in time, though I don't know how much luck I'll have."

"I'll do it," Hari said without hesitation.

Minerva smiled, "Wonderful, of course you'll have free access to our library here at the school whenever you need it. Also I suspect you'll be running into your soon-to-be colleague," just then, there was a knock on the door to the headmistress' office. "That will be her now." Hari turned, "Come in," she said. The door opened and in stepped the most gorgeous woman Hari had ever seen. She was pale, with white blonde hair, currently up in a ponytail, and long thin legs. She was wearing a tight emerald green dress with matching stilettos, and a bright red lipstick. Hari was certain she was drooling. "Thank you for agreeing to join us here," Minerva said. Hari stood up quickly, and held out her hand for the other woman. The woman in question, took it. Her hand was soft, save for her nails which were long and shaped into dagger like points that nearly made Hari's brain short circuit as they dug a bit into her palm. Without thinking, Hari leaned down, and brought the other woman's hand to her lips, kissing the back of it. The woman quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Hari, you remember Ms. Malfoy. Ms. Lyra, Malfoy," she heard Minerva say from behind her. Hari's eyes widened, and she looked up into the blonde's face. _It couldn't be._ She thought, silver-blue eyes stared back at her, deeply amused, and smug as ever. Lyra smirked, and slipped away from Hari, taking the seat Hari had just been sitting in. "Ms. Malfoy here has agreed to take on the Potions Master position, you'll likely be seeing a lot of each other over the next few weeks as you prepare for your respective N.E.W.Ts." Hari was still dumbfounded, staring at the floor where Malfoy had just been. "I wanted you two to meet in person before the start of term to ensure there would be no animosity between the two of you." Hari turned around, giving Minerva a strange look, something between shock and betrayal, then she noticed that Malfoy was looking at her, her left leg was currently curved over her right, as she stared over at Hari expectantly. Hari willed herself not to trace her eyes over the curve of Malfoy's calf, nor to her hands currently clasped together on top of her knee, or those bloody nails. She swallowed hard. "Of course not," she said.

"Excellent," Minerva said with a smile.

Hari looked between Minerva and Lyra then back again, _this is definitely going to be an interesting year,_ she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Hari moved into the teaching quarters for the Defense teacher almost immediately. Lyra had been amusedly watching her carry in several boxes of _Salazar only knows what,_ by hand. It was impressive how strong she was, Lyra noted. She was certainly not the lanky, malnourished looking girl Lyra had known in her childhood. But then she supposed she was not the same as she had been then either. She still chuckled to herself, thinking about the look on Hari’s face after she had realized just who’s hand she had kissed. It had taken everything in Lyra not to tease her about it. But she had promised Minerva she would be civil, and her staying out of Azkaban depended on it. Sure, Hari had spoken on her behalf back in June, but those that remained on the Wizengamot seemed reticent to take Hari at her word where Lyra was concerned. After everything that happened, the Ministry had wanted to make an example of the Malfoy’s.

“Need any help there, Potter?” she asked at last, Hari looked around confused, as if there was anyone else in the castle who could be speaking to her, and nearly ran into the wall with her boxes. Lyra shook her head, making her way towards the other woman. Hari looked her up and down then, she was wearing a tight black dress this time with matching heels.

“I can’t imagine you’ve ever lifted a box in your life, Malfoy,” she said.

Lyra smirked, pulling her wand from her bra and waved it at the boxes. They lifted out of Hari’s hands and into the room, landing smoothly in the furthest corner. “Did you forget you were a witch there, Potter?” she asked with a smirk.

“Prat,” Hari hissed, still not quite looking away from her.

She didn’t know why, or perhaps it was more that she didn’t wish to examine it, but Lyra rather enjoyed this newfound attention from Hari.

“I hope you’re not going to wear that around the students,” Hari said flatly.

Lyra looked down at her outfit, “Is there something wrong with my dresses?”

“Likely to send the male students into a frenzy,” Hari replied, walking into her room.

Lyra raised an eyebrow at that, “Do my outfits send you into a frenzy then?” she asked, but Hari didn’t answer, instead, she shut the door behind her, leaving Lyra glaring at the solid oak that separated them. “Oh come on, Potty, it was a joke!” she said. “I don’t _actually_ think you’d be attracted to me of all people.” But Hari didn’t acknowledge her. Lyra sighed, turning on her heel, and left the Defense corridor, “Not with our history,” she said to herself.

*

 _I really should be studying,_ Lyra thought, pacing around her room in the dungeons, she had a lesson with Snape’s portrait in less than an hour, and she knew she needed to be prepared. Even as a portrait Snape was ruthlessly perfunctory, and to his own goddaughter no less! But she couldn’t seem to focus, every time she tried to open her potions book, she would find her mind drifting off and thinking about Hari. _What the bloody hell is going on with me?_ She wondered. She rather felt like she had back in school, during fourth year when all those Durmstrang boys had been flirting with her. Or in sixth year, when she had finally had her first kiss, or just after the war and her freedom, when she had spent the better part of her summer having it off with any boy who would smile at her. But that was ridiculous, Hari was a girl, she hadn’t had an attraction to girls since… well she was fairly certain she hadn’t ever. Certainly not Hari Potter of all people. They weren’t even on friendly terms, Lyra sighed, perhaps she could have made a better effort, she thought to herself. _I’ll invite her for tea,_ Lyra thought, quickly walking over to her desk to pen a quick note. She could send her favorite owl, Horatio to Hari’s office and ask her round. Smiling at her own brilliance, Lyra finished off her note by scrawling her name, and tapped the note with the tip of her wand. The parchment rolled itself up and a pink ribbon tied the parchment up neatly. Standing, Lyra took the note over to her owl’s cage and tied it to his leg. “Please take this to Hari,” she said. “And make sure you get a response before you leave,” she added. The owl gave her a look. “Oh don’t look at me like that. Just do as I say please.” The owl took off, soaring out of its cage, and through Lyra’s door. Lyra smiled happily, finally feeling as though she’d be able to concentrate on something, and made her way back to her desk. 

_Oh, best call for tea,_ she thought, calling for a house elf to bring her some tea and biscuits while she waited.

* _**H P**_ *

Hari was half asleep still when she heard the owl chirping at her head. “Not now Hedwig,” she said, sleepily brushing a hand at the owl. The owl in question, hooted annoyedly, and nipped at her hand. “Ow, bloody hell,” she opened her eyes and stared at the owl before her. “Who…” she stared at the note on the owl’s leg and took it off quickly, bleary eyed attempting to read the note before she remembered, and pulled on her glasses. Blinking several times, she stared at the note on crisp parchment. At the top of the parchment, was the Malfoy family crest, _oh gods,_ she thought, and began to read:

_Dear Hari,_

_I think perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. Not for the first time, and I wanted to make sure that I did my best to rectify the situation. I promised Minerva that I would behave myself and not antagonize you, and I plan to stick by that. How about you come around for tea in twenty and we can have a little chat._

_Please and thank you._

_Yours,_

_Lyra_

Hari snorted, trying not to think too hard about Lyra’s choice of phrasing with the word: _yours,_ shaking her head she looked at the owl who was still staring expectantly at her. “I suppose you’ve been tasked with getting a response from me, eh?” she said.

The owl hooted, and Hari sighed, sitting up in bed, “Right,” forcing herself to get up, Hari pulled on a t-shirt and looked around her room. She hadn’t quite managed to unpack, and she wasn’t sure where she had a quill handy. “Oh bloody hell,” Hari pulled out her wand and cast a Patronus telling it to inform Lyra that she would be there as soon as she got dressed. The stag took off towards the dungeons, and the owl flew off after it. Leaving Hari once more alone in her new room, trying to figure out where all her bloody clothes were, and what exactly one should wear for tea with a Malfoy.

 _Something poncey no doubt,_ she thought, as she found her old school trunk in which she had managed to fit her meager wardrobe, and heaved it onto her bed. Opening it, Hari dug through several shrunken items of clothing, and decided on a simple black button up, slacks, and just to spite her, a Gryffindor maroon and gold tie. Hari, slipped on a pair of Oxfords, then made her way out of her room. She was halfway down the hall, when she realized that she didn’t feel quite right without a blazer, and jogged back to her room, and grabbed a black blazer and made her way back down the hall, and down towards the dungeons. She hadn’t realized it, but being back at Hogwarts had calmed her considerably, sure she still hadn’t gotten to bed before 3 AM, but she was feeling better than she had in a while. It didn’t hurt that she had also exhausted a great deal of energy moving all of her things between Number 12, and Hogwarts.

Hari cast a tempus, it was just past eight, shaking her head, she made her way down the steps toward the dungeons, and knocked smartly on the door. It was odd standing in front of the door to a room that had once been inhabited by Severus Snape, but then, it was odd that she was about to willingly have tea with Malfoy, she thought, fixing her tie. The door opened and Lyra stood before her, looking unfairly exquisite, this time in a pale pink dress, as tight as all the others. It complimented her complexion surprisingly well, and Hari was almost tempted to comment on it, she willed herself not to stare at Lyra’s breasts that looked as though they were about to pop out of her top at any moment, and smiled.

“Glad you could come,” Lyra said. Hari barely resisted the urge to crack a joke at that. Instead, she nodded, and made her way inside.

Lyra’s room was, in some respects, exactly what Hari would have expected, full of dark, expensive looking furniture that had no doubt been with the Malfoy family for centuries, and rich, plush looking chairs, and a sofa. Several large bookshelves lined the walls, all filled to the brim, and on the other side of her bed, was a floor to ceiling window which over looked the Black Lake. Hari couldn’t help but stare at the water. “Stunning isn’t it?” Lyra asked, as she appeared next to Hari at the window. Hari cut her eyes to Lyra then.

“Magnificent,” she said. Then, quickly swallowing turned her attention back towards the room at large, and took a seat. “You’re quite the decorator I see,” Hari said. “Perhaps I should have you around to help me out.” It was mostly a joke, Hari wasn’t sure she could handle Lyra in decorator mode.

“I’d be happy to,” Lyra said cheerfully, taking a seat across from her, and pouring Hari a cup of tea.

“I was only joking, I wouldn’t want to put you out,” she said. Lyra merely waved her off.

“Don’t be silly,” Lyra said. “Cream?”

Hari swallowed hard, willing her brain not to answer that suggestively. “Y-yes please,” she said.

“Sugar?” Lyra asked, pouring in just the right amount of cream into Hari’s tea.

“No thanks you’re sweet enough already,” Hari said without thinking.

“I think the joke is, I’m sweet enough already,” Lyra said. “But as you wish,” she handed Hari a very delicate looking teacup before preparing her own tea, heavily pouring in both cream and sugar before she stirred it exactly three times with her spoon and took a sip, humming to herself. Hari felt her hand shake at the noise Lyra made.

“One might think you were a veela with that sweet tooth,” she said, laughing somewhat nervously.

Lyra merely smirked, “There’s an old family legend that says there’s veela blood in me,” she said. _Oh well that explains it,_ Hari thought. _I’m not attracted to Malfoy, I’m just reacting to her veela side. I just need to take a potion and…_ “Of course, we’ve all been tested, father couldn’t stand the idea of any sort of creature blood in us, so I don’t suppose I am one. Though it would be interesting, not that I have trouble getting wizards to fall all over themselves trying to get my attention,” she added taking a sip of tea.

“No I wouldn’t imagine you would.”

“As a matter of fact, I spent a great deal of my summer on my back,” she said with a laugh. Hari forced a laugh out of herself, as she took a sip of her tea, trying to suppress the very unexpected, and entirely unwanted, surge of jealousy that washed over her at that. “I admit a lot of the men are rather unimaginative around here, they seem to think I’m too delicate for anything fun, but I still hold out hope that eventually I’ll find someone who’s capable of pinning me down and having their way with me.” It was all Hari could do not to choke on her tea at that, “I’m sorry, perhaps I shouldn’t have told you all of that,” she admitted. “It’s just been so long since I’ve had a girl friend to talk to, you know?”

“A what?”

“Girl friend, a friend who is a girl, you may dress like a bloke but I presume that’s just a fashion choice. Not a bad one mind you, actually I must say I’m quite impressed with your fashion sense these days Potter, two suits in a row.”

Hari blushed despite herself, “T-thanks,” she said.

“Quite handsome, if you don’t mind my saying.” Hari didn’t mind, in fact, being called handsome was perhaps the best compliment she could think of. She swallowed hard, trying to quell the growing desire within her to crawl on top of the blonde, and pin her down and demand to know what she was playing at. But then, it was clear Lyra was straight, and very much not interested, she probably had no idea what she was even doing to Hari right now, how she was teasing her. The smirk on Lyra’s face said otherwise. Hari’s eyes lowered, as she finally realized what was going on, placing her teacup on the table before her, she folded her arms across her chest, and glared.

“I want you to know that I don’t think what you’re doing is very amusing,” she said. “As a matter a fact, it’s borderline homophobic.”

“I beg your pardon?” Lyra asked.

“Trying to flirt with me for your own amusement, thinking you can just walk around in skimpy dresses where your tits nearly pop out and your… whatever you’ve got is nearly showing from beneath your dress, and what? You think because I’m some big bad dyke I’m just gonna be a puddle at your feet?”

Lyra blinked, “I think perhaps you’ve got the wrong impression about me, Potter,” she said.

“Oh no, I think I have exactly the correct impression about you, Malfoy,” she spat. “You’re exactly the same as you’ve always been, nothings changed. Actually, I’d say you’re a lot worse, because at least as a bloke you weren’t shitty enough to stoop to trying to think I’d ever be attracted to you.” As soon as she said it, Hari regretted it, but Malfoy’s eyes went cold, and she put down her teacup slowly.

“I think you’d better go,” Lyra said quietly.

“I…” Hari opened her mouth, but Lyra put up a hand to stop her.

“Now, Potter,” she said through clenched teeth. Hari stood up quickly, and left the room without another word. She turned around, as if to say something when the door slammed in her face. Hari sighed, walking back to her own room. _Well that went dreadfully,_ she thought, shaking her head.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 1) angst ahead, it’s a little dark, and related to Lyra’s pre-war, rise of Voldemort fears about her transition. 2) I know I created a lot of drama in the last chapter so, sorry for ret-conning that but I really just want these two idiots to be happy and gay together so. Try and forgive me.   
> For the life of me I couldn't figure out a way that didn't end with Lyra leaving for good, after that.

Lyra awoke with a start. Her bedroom was still dark as she looked around the room, taking in her surroundings, and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. It had been ages since she had had a nightmare that didn’t involve the war, or Voldemort, or watching her parents die, and yet despite that, the nightmare she had just awoken from had almost been worse. Shaking her head, Lyra realized that she would not be able to get back to sleep anytime soon, and decided now was as good a time as any to go for a walk around the castle. Getting to her feet, Lyra grabbed her robe from the armoire where it was hanging up and pulled it over her shoulders, tying it at her waist and slipping on a pair of slippers before she made her way towards the front of her room and slipped out quietly as she could. Lyra nearly jumped as she saw first a bright light, then darkness, and realized that Hari had been standing just outside her door. “Salazar’s ghost, Potter what the hell are you doing down here?” she shrieked, clutching her chest.

She could barely see Potter through the darkness, then seconds later, the light returned, illuminating Potter’s nervous looking face. “S-sorry,” she said. “I was just taking a walk. Sometimes when I can’t sleep I just wander the castle and I guess I just… ended up here,” she said.

Lyra eyed her. “You have sleeping troubles too then?” she asked. Hari nodded. Lyra sighed, “I don’t suppose you’d like some company on your walk,” she said. Hari blushed, or at least, that’s what it looked like, and nodded. Lyra smiled as the two walked side by side.

For a long moment the two walked in silence, neither one knowing what to say. “Can I tell you a secret?” Hari asked after a moment. Lyra looked at her. “Only, I don’t want to let Minerva down, but… my magic’s been a little wonky since I came back.”

“Came back?” Lyra asked.

“From the dead,” Hari said quietly. Lyra gasped. She had heard the rumors, of course, but she hadn’t actually believed that Hari had died that night. “I have to concentrate a lot more on all my spells,” she explained. “Even simple spells.”

Lyra remained very quiet for a moment, “Is that why your Lumos went out when I ran into you earlier?” she asked. Hari nodded. “Well then, I suppose I’ll have to help you,” she said.

“You would do that?” Hari asked.

Lyra smiled, “Of course, You know I’m actually quite a powerful witch,” she said.

Hari smiled at her, clearly grateful for her help. “Can I ask you a question? You don’t have to answer, I just…” Lyra eyed her, waiting nervously, any time someone asked, _can I ask you a question,_ it was almost inevitably about her gender. Bracing herself, and trying to push away the memories of her nightmare, Lyra waited. “Do you think we could start over?” she asked. Whatever Lyra had been expecting, that wasn’t it.  
“I…”

“I mean, I know we were never friendly growing up, in fact you might even say we were enemies, but I’d like to put the past behind us, start fresh, you know? I think we deserve that. After all we’re going to be working together a lot.”

Lyra smiled despite herself. “I’d like that,” she said.

“In fact, maybe we should take some time and get to know each other,” Hari added. “We could have breakfast together in the Great Hall.”

“It’s a date,” Lyra said. Hari blushed crimson, at that. “You know it’s funny, we’ve technically known each other for years, but I don’t think we know a thing about each other. Are you still seeing that Weasley girl?”

“Ginny?” Hari asked. “No, no, we…er… she’s dating Luna now.”

“Oh, I am sorry,” Lyra said, though if she was honest, she felt oddly relieved about that fact, she had never found Ginny to be suitable for Hari.

“What about you?” Hari asked. “You still with Blaise?” At this, Lyra stopped dead in her tracks, and doubled over, laughing. “What’s funny?” Hari asked.

Lyra merely continued laughing, “I…never… Blaise…” she giggled, finally catching herself. “Blaise and I never dated. He’s like a brother to me. But let’s just say he’s always seen me as a sister.”

“Oh,” Hari said. “Surely you _have_ a boyfriend though,” she added. “I mean, any girl as pretty as you must have wizards falling all over themselves for you.”

Lyra bristled a little at that, but shrugged, “Shockingly my post-war prospects have been not great,” she admitted. This was true, try though she might to get anyone interested in her, her options had been fairly limited.

“Oh,” Hari said.

“But you must have girls throwing themselves at you,” Lyra added. “You’re quite handsome, and your fashion sense has improved dramatically since I last saw you.”

“Having an unlimited disposable income will do that for you.”

“I always thought so,” Lyra chuckled.

“Funny that we should end up, I guess I can’t say switching styles, but, well now I’m the one wearing suits.”

Lyra nodded, “They never suited me,” she admitted.

“No, I didn’t think so either. I mean, I didn’t realize how much they didn’t suit you until I saw you in that first dress, you looked… magnificent,” she said. “Not just beautiful, but happy too. That’s the thing I remembered most about you from our sixth year, you looked the most miserable I had ever seen you.”

“I was,” Lyra admitted. It was still painful to think back on that time, it hadn’t even been that long ago really, but it felt altogether like a lifetime ago and no time at all. “I knew who I was from the time I was five years old, only I knew father would never hear of it. No son of his was going to be some pansy, let alone a girl, so I buried it. As deep as I possibly could,” she sighed. “For a while I even managed to convince myself that I didn’t care, then when I came to school, and became friends with Pansy, it was like… she knew. She just could sense it I guess. She always tried to get me to try on her shoes, or her clothes, or her makeup. And I would protest, because of course I had to, but deep down, it was the only time I was ever really happy. Then in fourth year, I experienced my first kiss with a boy, and he said I was so pretty, and I thought _oh my god, this is it. This is what true happiness feels like._ And then, Voldemort came back, and I just felt as if my soul had left my body. I had Snape teach me Occlumency the moment he could, because I knew, it would only be a matter of time before Voldemort was in our lives, demanding to know everything and trying to search my brain. I was terrified of what he… what he would do if he knew,” she said quietly. “Then in sixth year, when you…” she didn’t finish the last part of her sentence. “I actually felt almost free.”

“Oh Lyra,” Hari said, looking as though she wanted to hug her, Lyra cringed, she hated the idea of Hari pitying her.

“It’s… I’m fine,” she assured her. “It was just, I was miserable, pretending to be something I wasn’t. And I took it out on you. And I’m sorry for that,” she said. “Hari, I never should have…” but before Lyra could say another word, Hari had stopped suddenly, and looked at her. Lyra paused, looking over at Hari then, waiting for the other to speak. For a brief moment, Hari looked as though she might take a step closer, her eyes darted to Lyra’s lips, then back up again. Lyra’s breath caught, and she found her pulse rising, she didn’t know why, but in that moment, the way Hari looked in the moonlight, she desperately wanted Hari to kiss her.

Hari took a step forward and Lyra stood, frozen to the spot. “I’m so sorry,” Hari said, wrapping her arms around Lyra’s shoulders and pulling her in for a hug. Lyra frowned, but with some amount of effort, forced herself to hug Hari in return. She was being silly, her nightmare may have been false about most things, but it had been right in the most important part, Hari would never be attracted to her, she thought. She didn’t know why this thought upset her so. It wasn’t as if she was usually attracted to girls. But then, Hari had never been just _any_ girl. Hari pulled away first, and Lyra smiled a little.

“Thank you,” she said, trying to sound happier than she felt. Hari smiled back.

“Come on,” Hari said. “We’d better finish up our walk and try and get back to bed,” she said.

Lyra nodded. She did her best to keep the tone lighter for the rest of their walk, and a little while later, she returned to her room, and once more found herself staring at the ceiling. _What the hell is going on with me?_ She thought. _Since when do I have feelings for Hari Potter?_

Her mind was racing and she knew she wasn’t going to be sleeping any time soon.


End file.
